Wii U launch games will not have NFC support

Nintendo has confirmed that the Wii U will not launch with any games that use the system's Near Field Communication (NFC) capability.

One of the Wii U gamepad's most interesting features is an NFC reader underneath the direction pad. An early leaked trailer for Rayman Legends showed the game using NFC to scan toys and import them into the game.

It turns out that the video was only a concept test for the feature, which was ultimately dropped for the game.

Activision today announced Skylanders Giants for Wii U, which uses NFC technology to import characters into the game using collectible figures. However, it requires the toy to rest on the NFC sensor during gameplay, which would get in the way of holding the gamepad, so it will use an NFC-capable platform like other versions of the game.

Nintendo product manager Bill Trinen said that NFC games will eventually come to Wii U as developers become more familiar with the technology.

"That is a new tech, particularly with it being available in the US," Trinen told Polygon. "A lot of the developers are wondering, 'What are the options? How do we leverage it?' As they start to come with their ideas, solutions and great content, we will talk more about it."